Beads, Cher and Two-Headed Calves

Now that its 28th annual Holiday Traditions display has come and gone, Behringer-Crawford Museum is gearing up for an array of new springtime exhibits and events.

Coming up first is “The Role of the Bead,” a collection showing the use of beads starting with Native American beadwork and moving through the 19th century up to modern day, including two of Cher’s famous outfits that she wore on The Sonny & Cher Show.

“It’s transformed into this really fun exhibit,” says Laurie Risch, executive director at the museum. To flesh out the exhibit and lead workshops, Behringer-Crawford is working with Robert Haven, a University of Kentucky professor and expert in Tambour beading—a method developed in 18th-century Europe.

It was Haven who referred the museum to a collector in Columbus, Ohio, who is loaning Cher’s outfits to Behringer-Crawford for the exhibit. It’s great timing, too, with Cher performing at Heritage Bank Center on April 7.

“We have to get the word out and have Cher visit Behringer-Crawford,” Risch says with a laugh.

Other items on display include rosary beads, beaded moccasins and various others from both Behringer-Crawford’s own collection and private collections. There will also be plenty of activities for kids visiting the bead exhibition, as well. “The Role of the Bead” runs from the weekend of February 8 through Mother’s Day weekend in May.

In mid-spring, “The Role of the Bead” will share space with a new gallery of paintings and works by Bellevue native Harlan Hubbard.

“We had a wonderful donation provided to us last year,” says Risch. “What we’re also working on is to produce an audiobook (of one of Hubbard’s books) to be able to bring Harlan Hubbard’s writings to a whole new audience and population as well.”

On April 9 is the annual Two-Headed Calf Awards, recognizing various community members for their achievements in preserving and promoting local history and heritage. It’s one of the most popular ways for Behringer-Crawford Museum to recognize the community’s importance in keeping it operational. While the museum’s budget is small, its collection spans hundreds of thousands of items. Over her 32 years with the museum, Risch only knows of two items in the collection that were purchased—all other items have either been donated by the community or uncovered by archaeological digs.

“It’s very much a community-based museum,” she says, “and whatever we can do is because of the generosity of the community. From the funding that comes in, to the artifacts that come in, to the volunteers who come in to help, to the board members who guide us… if we didn’t have that kind of community support we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.”

Behringer-Crawford Museum reopens on Tuesday, February 4, before “The Role of the Bead” exhibit begins that weekend.